Education and Culture play a significant role in our everyday lives. Education and training are crucial for the future of Wales and the wider European Union. Better knowledge and skills are essential for personal development, employability, social cohesion and cultural awareness. Culture is at the core of society, a way of expressing diversity, promoting tourism and providing opportunities for people leading to better, healthier, and happier lives. The EU has and continues to provide new and exciting opportunities for the people of Wales, such as offering students the possibility to live and study abroad, encouraging twinning partnerships with villages, towns, and cities in Europe, and providing financial support to preserve the cultural institutions, heritage, history, and language of Wales.
Key areas for local government
Local authorities in Wales can benefit greatly from EU programmes in the field of education and culture. The EU Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-13 enables individuals at all stages of their lives to pursue learning opportunities across Europe, as well as promoting cooperation between European schools and universities. The strands within the Programme, namely Comenius (for schools), Erasmus (for higher education), Leonardo da Vinci (vocational education and training), and Grundtvig (adult education), focus on specific aspects of education and training.
The EU Culture Programme 2007-13 supports projects and initiatives that support the cultural diversity of Europe. The Programme seeks to promote cross-border mobility of those working in cultural sector, as well as develop intercultural dialogue. In addition to the Culture programme, the EU Citizenship Programme 2007-13 encourages the citizens of Europe to become more involved in European integration, develop a sense of European identity, and enhancing mutual understanding between Europeans.
Local authorities may also be interested in the EU Youth Programme. The ‘Youth in Action’ Programme 2007-13 seeks to promote the active citizenship of young people, as well as improving the education and training, employability and social inclusion of young Europeans. The EU also recognises the increasing importance of Sport in society as well as the development of Multilingualism in Europe.
WLGA European Office activity
Education
The Office works with the WLGA Lifelong Learning and Culture team in Cardiff, and also works closely with our colleagues in the Welsh Higher Education Office and the Welsh Assembly Government in Brussels on issues of common interest. The Office also liaises with Welsh schools, advising them from time to time on opportunities within the Comenius strand of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. The Office has also helped with coordinating school visits from Wales, for example, in June 2008, the Office helped to secure the participation of two pupils from north Wales in a mock EU Council in Brussels.
Culture
The Office regularly responds to enquiries from local authorities on the EU Culture Programme. Within the Programme, the Office is focusing on twinning opportunities for town and community councils and local authorities in Wales. The Office has organised two workshops focusing on twinning opportunities within the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme. The workshop held in Carmarthen in October 2008 gave participants an introduction to funding opportunities within the programme, while the workshop held in Llandrindod Wells in March 2009 explored EU town twinning opportunities for twinning associations and town councils in Wales. These workshops were complemented by surveys sent out to all participants so that the Office could better understand the needs of twinning organisations and associations in Wales.
The Office helps to continue and develop the strong historical links between Wales and Brittany. The Office participated in the Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival in August 2008 to present Welsh-Breton twinning opportunities. The Office works closely on education and cultural matters with colleagues in the Welsh Assembly Government, EUCLID (the UK contact point for the EU Culture Programme 2007-13), the Local Government Association, One Voice Wales (representing town and community councils in Wales), the Wales Council for Voluntary Action for Wales – Africa twinning links and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).
WLGA Members on European Institutions
- Cllr Bob Bright (Newport CC) is the WLGA full member on the EU Committee of the Regions. Cllr Bright is a member on the Education, Culture and Research Committee (EDUC), and the Office regularly supports Cllr Bright's work on the committee. Cllr Bright's evidence to the National Assembly of Wales' European and External Affairs Committee may be found here: 28 April 2009; 12 January 2010
In July 2010 Cllr Bright was appointed rapporteur on a CoR Opinion focusing on Vocational Education and Training (VET). Cllr Bright coordinated the CoR's response to the European Commission's Communication entitled 'A new impetus for European cooperation in VET to support the Europe 2020 Strategy'. With the support of WLGA officers, consultation with the National Assembly for Wales, Welsh Higher Education and Welsh Assembly Government offices in Brussels, as well as advice from other VET experts in Welsh Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Cllr Bright has drawn together an Opinion that focuses on an important area of policy that will play a key role in contributing to the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Key messages from the Opinion include the need to recognise the role of VET in speeding up the economic recovery in Europe, ensure that the Commission has meaningful engagement with local and regional authorities in developing VET, promote the attractiveness and importance of vocational qualifications in relation to more academically oriented degrees, develop better linkages between HEIs, training providers and businesses, and place emphasis on mobility, flexibility, and partnerships to modernise VET in Europe.
Cllr Bright held meetings with representatives from the Belgian EU Presidency and European Commission to discuss the Opinion on 9-10 September 2010, as well as hosting an open Structured Dialogue meeting in the CoR. The Opinion was adopted at the EDUC meeting on 27 September, with full adoption at the Plenary Session on 1 December. The Opinion was adopted ahead of the meeting between EU Ministers on 7 December 2010 to discuss progress in European VET since the 2002 Copenhagen Process. Further information may be found on the CoR website and here.
- Cllr Ronnie Hughes (Conwy CBC) is the WLGA member on the Council of Europe. Cllr Hughes is a member on the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and currently stands on the Culture and Education Committee. In September 2009 Cllr Hughes gave a presentation to the committee in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on the contribution of cultural projects to the Welsh economy. The presentation may be found here. Cllr Hughes' evidence to the National Assembly of Wales' European and External Affairs Committee (28 April 2009) may be found here.
For more information contact: Iwan Williams